I love that this female off-duty officer was there to stop this armed robber from hurting people! How would you have handled it in her shoes?

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this female officer ruining this armed robber’s day? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details.

Details on the armed robber and the female defender (he died): https://get-asp.com/ckqn WARNING that site is incredibly NSFW. I do not endorse anything about it, at all. Click at your own risk.

What does this video teach us about protecting ourselves against an armed robber?

Perhaps the biggest benefit of situational awareness is that it buys you time and space to respond to a threat, and time and space buy you options when considering how to protect yourself and your loved ones from a threat. Time and space give you the chance to escape and evade, or time and space to get your force multiplier in the fight, and time and space to better your defensive position and give you a better chance to be victorious.

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers. The speed of the attack by this armed robber is because of the transitional space! Don’t be paranoid when you’re in one, but recognize where the ambush points are and make sure you’re prepared mentally to protect yourself!

Successful self-defense against many attacks involves a counter-ambush, where the victim finds the right opportunity to seize the initiative from the attacker and launch an ambush of their own. That involves thinking and knowing your own strengths and skill set, and being ready to strike the attacker when your opportunity for counter-ambush comes. It also means not allowing the attacker to see that attack until it’s launched. The female officer did a great job of counter-ambushing this armed robber!

Remember, at the end of a defensive encounter your goal is to get to safety and end the threat against you and your loved ones. Pursuing a fleeing bad guy for whatever reason is unwise because they very well may counter-ambush you or hurt you to make their escape. Once the threat ends, let the threat go and take action to make yourself safer. The officer did an excellent job of that here.

In most instances that we see on surveillance video, the first person to put shots on target wins the gunfight. That’s not 100% because injured people can stay in the fight a long time, but it is a good “rule of thumb” because once someone gets shot they usually stop thinking about whatever it is they were doing and start thinking about the pain they’re in and how not to get shot again (we call that the FIBS Factor: “F&^%, I’ve Been Shot!”). The lesson in that is clear: be the first to put shots on target. (this is the corollary to Joe Frick’s Rules for a Gunfight #3, “Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.”)

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.